Information on finding a job in Canada from abroad (Africa, France, French-speaking countries...)

Albert Joseph Nobisse Tchawou

Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant

See also article : How to find a job in Canada from Africa

Questions to ask yourself before starting your job search in Canada

Get a chronological Canadian CV template in French

What are your career plans?

Do you know what your professional goal is? If you don't, it's possible that you're scattered in your search and you're not getting anywhere.

To find a job in Canada, you need to know what type of position you're looking for and what the requirements of that position are. Once this has been clearly defined, you need to put in place a multi-step plan to achieve your goal.

Your past and present professional situation

What work experience and training do you have? What is your current professional situation? Which companies have you worked for in the past and which do you work for now? What do you like about your job? What have you learned? What do you know how to do? What do you dislike and would like to change?

Your professional goals and desires

How do you see your professional future? Would you like to continue in your current job or change careers? If you want to change, what job would you like to do? Do you have what it takes in terms of technical and behavioral skills, as well as academic training for your future career? What do you still need to learn, acquire or perfect to be competitive on the local and international job market?

Implementing your professional project

Once you've answered the above questions, put in place a detailed plan to achieve your career goals. Don't delude yourself with wishful thinking. These objectives must be SMART, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Skills to be acquired
Transferable skills to maintain
Training to follow
Professional experience (jobs and internships) to be acquired
Languages to learn or improve
Professional network to develop
Workplace behaviors and culture
Life skills to adopt in a multicultural environment
Computer tools (hardware and software) to learn and master
Build relationships to expand your professional network

National Occupational Classification (NOC)

The NOC is a list of all existing occupations on the Canadian job market. Whatever the trade, it has a code in the NOC.

The role of the NOC is to precisely describe jobs by level and type of skill required.

The NOC is used for many immigration programs, including economic immigration, provincial nominee programs and the temporary foreign worker program.

There are 5 types of professions:

TEER 0 - Management positions
TEER 1 - Occupations generally requiring a university degree
TEER 2 - Occupations generally requiring: a college diploma, an apprenticeship of 2 years or more, or supervisory duties.
RRIF 3 - Occupations generally requiring: a college diploma, an apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or on-the-job training of more than 6 months.
RRIF 4 - Occupations generally requiring: a high school diploma, or on-the-job training lasting several weeks.
RRIF 5 - Occupations generally requiring short-term demonstration of work and no schooling

To find out if you are eligible for programs with work experience as an eligibility criterion, you need to determine your NOC code. You'll also need a letter from your employer and other evidence to support your experience. Contact us if you need help determining your NOC code or gathering evidence of your work experience.

Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)

An LMIA is a document that a Canadian employer must obtain from ESDC before hiring a foreign worker. This document determines whether the foreign worker can be hired based on two main factors:

Is there a real need in the Canadian job market?
Are there not enough Canadian citizens and permanent residents to do the job?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, the employer will receive an unfavorable LMIA and will not be able to hire the foreign worker. On the other hand, a positive LMO indicates that the foreign worker fills a shortage and that no Canadian worker is available to do the job; in this case, the employer will receive a positive LMO confirmation letter and will be able to recruit to fill the need.

If you want to increase your chances of finding a job in Canada, you may want to target sectors with labour shortages and occupations in demand in Canada.

Some immigration programs with a "job offer" component or opportunities to work in Canada

Details of these programs can be found on the respective Government of Canada, provincial and territorial websites listed in the first chapter of this book.

Federal programs

The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program
Study permit (you can work up to 20 hours a week during classes, and full-time during school vacations and public holidays).
Post-Graduation Work Permit
Atlantic Canada Immigration Program (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island)
Pilot immigration program for rural and northern communities.
The agri-food pilot program
Express Entry programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades Program

Provincial and territorial programs

Ontario

Employment opportunities: foreign workers
Job opportunities for foreign students
In-demand skills section of the POCI Job Offers category

Quebec

Quebec Skilled Worker Program
Self-employed workers in Québec
Quebec Experience Program

British Columbia

Express Entry
Semi-skilled worker

Manitoba

Skilled worker abroad
Skilled worker in Manitoba
Careers section
Internship component

Alberta

Express Entry
Alberta opportunities

Saskatchewan

Express entry-skilled worker
Skilled worker
Skilled worker - occupations in demand
Skilled worker with job offer
Health occupations
Hospital pilot project
Long-haul truck driver
Students

New Brunswick

Express Entry
Skilled workers with employer support

Nova Scotia

Skilled worker
Low-skilled worker
Doctor
Job market priorities
Express entry
Trades and professions in demand

Newfoundland and Labrador

Express entry-skilled worker
Skilled worker
International graduate

Prince Edward Island

Skilled worker
Occupations in demand
Essential workers
Express entry
Foreign graduates

Northwest Territories

Skilled worker
Express entry
Semi-skilled worker

Yukon

Express entry
Skilled worker
Foreign workers in communities
Strategic employees

Some websites and portals to find a job in Canada

Guichet Emploi - https://www.guichetemplois.gc.ca
Monster - https://www.monster.ca
Workopolis - https://www.workopolis.com
Jobillico - https://www.jobillico.com

You can also do your research on the websites of Canadian companies you'd like to work for and contact them directly.

The Canadian CV

Your CV in Canada must meet the following criteria:

Be real in your CV
Take care of your layout, use normal letter size
Use a basic font such as Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri or Garamond.
Don't use colors, unless you're in the creative field. Otherwise, your CV should be in black and white.
Avoid too many pages. One page is enough, or a maximum of 2 pages.
Don't put your photo on the CV
Do NOT put your marital status, number of children, age, gender, social insurance number or any other private information on the CV.
Tailor your CV to the position you're targeting, and mention only the experience, skills and training required for the job.
Leave valid contact details so that you can always be reached.
Present your CV with care and avoid spelling and grammatical errors.

The chronological CV

On a chronological CV, you focus on your work experience, highlighting the positions you've held, your achievements and the tasks you've performed. In general, start with the most recent experience and end with the oldest.

Get a chronological Canadian CV template in French

The functional or skills-based CV

On the functional CV, you focus on your skills. This type of CV is recommended when you have a lot of experience. It highlights the skills you've acquired during your jobs, internships or volunteer activities.

The mixed CV

It combines the chronological and functional CVs, allowing you to emphasize both your experience and your skills.

The CV must include :

Your personal information: first and last name, address, telephone number and e-mail address.
Your career objective, i.e. the job title or a short text showing how you meet the job requirements.
Your professional experience
Your studies
Your language skills
Your technical and behavioral skills

If you'd like a ready-to-use CV template, visit our store.